2008 Annual Report - NASA Airborne Science Program

MSC/JSC for coordination, education,
and capture of knowledge for use in
implementation of remote sensing programs
emanating within the Agency itself. The
sensor teams were generally organized along
“spectral lines”, such as active and passive
microwave, camera, various scanner systems,
etc. A lead university headed both types of
teams with several other universities in direct
support. These people were all leaders in
their field and are deserving of recognition
as pioneers in earth observations remote
sensing. They were spread throughout the
country.
An annual planning and scheduling meeting
was instituted in 1969 to bring the
participants together, inform them of the
current program status and future planning,
Figure 51
First Annual Planning Session at MSC in
1971.Notice the young Smistad (center
right) and Nolan (center left) in photo.
Others: J. Algranti, Aircraft Operations
Office (far left) and M. Holter, Earth
Observations Divisions (far right).
solicit inputs for improvements or need for
additional/revised capabilities, and review
a suggested flight program for the next
fiscal year based on user agency, university,
and research institution flight requests for
that period. The various inputs from these
participants, together with internal agency
requests, were then reviewed and prioritized
with the assistance of OSSA, and the original
flight program was revised accordingly. There
were allowances made for contingencies and
revised/additional flight requests during the
year. This was always ‘beat’ against the budget
constraints and established priorities.
The Aircraft and Their Sensor Systems
Convair 240 (CV 240-NASA 926)
The CV 240 was acquired in 1964 and
phased out in 1969. The aircraft was limited
in altitude and range because of the heavy
load of sensors and instrumentation. The test
altitudes were in the region of 10,000 feet,
and the operating range was 4 hour/800 mile
flights. Even so, it conducted missions in all
regions of the United States, as well as Alaska
and Iceland. She was a grand old girl. When
she was returned to the surplus pool she was
immediately claimed by another agency, and
may still be flying. In general, the onboard
sensors were not developed specifically for
this program, and although limited for many
uses, they provided a wealth of knowledge,
orientation, and training for scientists, sensor
development teams, applications, and
operations personnel.
Lockheed P-3A (NASA 927)
The P-3A was acquired on loan from the
Navy in December of 1965, and after a period
of modification to accept down looking
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